


robin hood

by starlets



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 13:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10023518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlets/pseuds/starlets
Summary: Leo finds a lost boy and decides to help him. Five years later, he doesn't totally regret it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't feel like doing any research, so I didn't, sorry. The setting and time is really vague because of that, but I hope you can enjoy it anyway. 
> 
> I love Leo + Tsukasa.

Leo knows he shouldn’t. 

 

The bread in his bag is only enough for his family, with maybe a little extra for Ruka-tan, so he knows that no matter how pleadingly he’s asked, he shouldn’t give up any pieces for a lost boy he doesn’t even know, but keeping strict about something like this is significantly harder when said boy doesn’t look like Leo at all—his face is completely clean, his clothes are in almost perfect condition, and he looks… scared. Genuinely, as if he’s never been in the streets alone before. 

 

He doesn’t mean to be so easily persuaded, but he’s only twelve, and this boy looks only a little younger than him, which makes him only a little older than Ruka. He can’t help but to help him now that he’s made that connection. Sighing, he turns back to the redhead who had reached out to him, noting how clearly unused to going without food and safety he is.

 

“Please,” the boy repeats, eyes almost watering.

 

Leo doesn’t know yet what it is that makes his chest feel strange, but he knows that he has a distinct urge to protect this boy who’s so much more well off than him, who ordinarily would never need protection from someone like him. Who knew? 

 

He  _ should _ turn away from him—it would serve the boy right for seeking help in someone who will never be as pampered as this boy obviously is—but he doesn’t. Instead, he reaches into the bag he’s carrying, pulling out his serving of the bread he’d stolen earlier that day.

 

“What’s your name?” he says, stepping closer, and Leo notices him loosen up. He must be relieved that Leo isn’t just walking away, but Leo isn’t sure that that this kid’s ever had anyone walk away from him. He looks too soft.

 

“Suou Tsukasa,” he says. 

 

Right. Suou Tsukasa, Leo thinks. He’ll remember that, probably.

 

Suou Tsukasa… Suo— _ Suou _ ?

 

He really is a rich boy. Leo doesn’t know how someone like a  _ Suou  _ wandered away from his family, getting lost in an alleyway at that, but he’s surprised. He always figured families like his have such uptight security that getting lost would be impossible, especially in some place this dirty. You have your Suous, and your Himemiyas, and your Tenshouins, and then you have everybody else. 

 

(For the record, the Tsukinagas are “everybody else.”)

 

“Su...Suo~,” he finally musters, trying to hide his surprise, but he’s young and not a good actor yet. “Shouldn’t you be with your family? I mean, you’re rich, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes,” Tsukasa says pitifully, even though ‘yes, I’m rich,’ isn’t something that Leo ever thought anyone could say pitifully. “But I don’t—I don’t know how to get back to them, and it’s so late..! I don’t know what to do! I just— _ hic _ —I just wanted to ride the train by myself for once.”

 

“Hey, wait. Come on, don’t cry.”

 

“I thought Mother and Father would be proud of me if I could do that, but I got off on the wrong stop, and now I’m lost, and… and… they’re going to be sooo mad! I never should have left! I’m a terrible son.” Tsukasa wipes at his eyes, keeping his gaze on the ground. 

 

He must be embarrassed to face Leo like this, but Leo steps forward anyway, grabbing Tsukasa’s wrist with his free hand and pulling him toward himself. Tsukasa looks up at him, blinking in confusion, and Leo takes this opportunity to stop his weeping.

 

“It’s fine. I’m sure it’s fine. They’ll probably just want to see your rich self back in their home with your thousands of maids and be happy with that!” 

 

Maybe, anyway. Leo doesn’t really know how rich parents think, but his personally let him wander off whenever, knowing he’ll come back, so it’s not like he has experience with Tsukasa’s situation and can only assume.

 

“Look, I’ll help you get back tomorrow morning, and it’ll all be okay, so just don’t cry anymore. Here,” he holds up the bread that he pulled out earlier, offering it to Tsukasa, “you can have this. I got it from the best bakery that I know, so you should be grateful that I’m offering it to you instead of being sad again!” Never mind the fact that he stole it.

 

Tsukasa obviously isn’t so easily convinced, but he nods anyway, taking it. “O...okay,” he says with a sniffle and a forced smile. Leo almost thinks that going hungry is worth it.

 

_ Almost _ .

 

* * *

 

In all honesty, Leo should just step away from this (again). It’s just not fair to take advantage of such blatant stupidity, but since he’s always being called stupid anyway (thanks, Sena), he figures that the playing ground is level enough for him not to be the bigger person.

 

It’s way too beneficial to pass up. Who even puts a gold pocket watch somewhere so easily stolen, anyway? Just because this kid has it hanging on his person, he thinks that it’s safe? Has he never been outside?

 

Leo can’t complain, really. That old saying he’s always been reminded of tells him not to look a gift horse in the mouth, after all, and if he can just take this, he’s homefree. He can sell it off, get enough money to feed his family for weeks, and then he won’t feel bad about running off to write songs whenever he pleases. 

 

(AKA: He won’t have to be told that he’s going to get in trouble for graffiti-ing up the place, which is great actually, because he hates having his works being called “graffiti.” Do people call Mozart’s work graffiti? Beethoven? No. Sure, they were writing on paper and in secure places, but composition is an  _ art _ . It should be a crime to question it… But that’s besides the point.)

 

He just has to get a little closer, paying attention to his surroundings (which clearly his victim has neglected to do, so focused on a street stand that he can’t even notice someone approaching him from behind), and it’ll be great. Or at least it was  _ supposed  _ to be great until he blinks and suddenly finds his hands held tightly behind his back by some security guard he hadn’t noticed before.

 

Shit.

 

“Owww! Hey, hey! Lighten up, will you? I’ll have you know that I create miracles with that hand! If you injure my wrists, I won’t be able to write anymore!” 

 

He struggles at first, but ultimately realizes he’s no match for someone trained in physical strength and gives up, scowling. He’s going to  _ really  _ hear it from Sena if he goes to jail. Something like, “I took up modeling for extra money. I could have given you some, but you said no, and instead go get yourself arrested!?  _ Sooo~  _ annoying!”

 

Haha. His Sena impression really is so great…

 

Wait. That’s not the point. The point is—

 

“Let me go!”

 

“Young master,” the guard says, completely ignoring him. Leo’s pride deflates momentarily, but he should have expected that. “This boy was caught trying to steal from you. Shall I have him arrested?”

 

“Huh?” 

 

That’s real eloquent for a “young master,” Leo thinks, but for once he’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Besides, there’s something else that quiets him, namely the ridiculously familiar face of said young master once he turns around.

 

There’s a moment where neither of them speak, but Tsukasa finally does, as if he’s unable to believe himself.

 

“...No. Let him go,” he says. 

 

The guard does, and Leo rubs at his wrists. If he had the money to sue for damages, he definitely would! He’d probably lose because of the whole stealing thing, but it’s just to make a point anyway.

 

“You helped me!” Tsukasa starts, stepping toward Leo. He grabs Leo’s hands from him, holding them close to himself, and Leo isn’t sure what to say. ‘Yeah, I so did’? ‘You were a really whiny child’? No, those don’t work.

 

“You...ate my bread,” he settles. “I went hungry for you, you know, so you totally owe me!” 

 

“Wh—” Tsukasa seems shocked, unable to process that he’s being accused like this. “What! I shared with you! I gave you a piece and you ate it! If you didn’t want me to eat it, you shouldn’t have given it to me in the first place!” He lets go of Leo’s hands, noticeably unimpressed.

 

“I couldn’t not give it to you when you were crying like a baby! Who does that at ten years old anyway.” Leo’s digging his own hole deeper while trying to climb out of it at the same time, but this method usually works for him. “My point is, you owe me for that! And I didn’t try to steal anything! Believe me!”

 

Tsukasa looks skeptical. Leo’s pretty sure he’s going to say no, why would I trust some random kid over my body guard? But he doesn’t. Instead he nods, holding his hand out to Leo.

 

“Okay,” he says. “If you come to my house, I shall pretend it did not happen.”

 

* * *

 

This room is too lavish for Leo to occupy, and it’s not nearly as bad as the rest of the house. After having been shoved into a shower by maids before he could even step inside Tsukasa’s bedroom, he still doesn’t feel like he’s properly prepared for it, but sure enough, Tsukasa is gesturing for him to come further inside.

 

“Close the door behind you.”

 

Leo shuts it, walking over to where Tsukasa stands by his bed, feeling more awkward than he ever has before. At least outside he doesn’t have to feel confined, but now, in front of such a clean person who can never understand his experience, he feels strange.

 

“...You really tried to steal from me,” Tsukasa finally says.

 

“I  _ didn’t _ .”

 

“You did!” Tsukasa folds his arms over his chest, staring directly at Leo. 

 

They’re older now, but Tsukasa’s still a little bit shorter than him, only by one centimeter. It’s going to suck if Tsukasa gets taller than him. That crybaby he helped once upon a time standing over him—no, it’s not like he’ll see it happen, anyway. This is a once in a lifetime reunion.

 

“Well! You stole my bread, Suo~, so I’d say we’re even!” Leo looks back at him, holding eye contact as if it’s nothing.

 

Tsukasa eventually breaks it, sighing. “I did  _ not _ steal it from you. You gave it to me! It was only five years ago. Did you already forget everything?” 

 

Leo doesn’t say anything. He didn’t forget any of it, no, but he never thought he’d cross paths with a Suou again, so he finds himself at a loss for how to respond. Should he even be this defensive? Tsukasa isn’t looking to have him arrested, but… being in this place is making him antsy.

 

Tsukasa takes his silence as an answer, sitting down on the edge of his bed and patting the spot next to him. Leo tentatively takes the indicated place, eyebrows furrowing.

 

“You gave it to me, like this!” For some reason, Tsukasa mimics handing something over and starts speaking in a different tone of voice. “Here! Take this, and stop crying! This bread is the best bread in the world! So eat it and I’ll help you!”

 

Leo guesses this is supposed to be a representation of him. Tsukasa’s really bad at acting.

 

“That’s not how I said it, Suo~.” He doesn’t think he was that rough… He’d been genuinely trying to help! 

 

“It was, more or less.” 

 

In ‘I’m a rich person who can’t be agreeable’ speak, that means it wasn’t.

 

“And then,” Tsukasa says, patting his lap now. “You did this.”

 

Leo isn’t sure what Tsukasa wants him to do here. He’s  _ not  _ going to sit in his lap, but Tsukasa stares at him insistently, patting his lap again. And once more, getting increasingly frustrated by Leo’s lack of movement.

 

“Rich people sure are forward!? I’m not gonna sit there, Suo~! You haven’t even taken me to dinner first!” Leo grabs Tsukasa’s wrist, pulling it away so that he can’t pat his lap again. “But if you’re going to, let’s go somewhere I can see the stars! I wanna see if the aliens will visit again…”

 

“Again?” Tsukasa pulls his wrist away, confused, but he gets over it quickly. “No, never mind. I don’t want you to sit in my lap! I want you to lay your head on it!” 

 

Leo stares.

 

“Do it,” Tsukasa says. “I’m refreshing your memory!”

 

Leo remembers enough already, so he shouldn’t do it, but he does anyway. Blame the weird part inside of him that keeps telling him to follow whatever Tsukasa says; he’s been ignoring it this whole time, but sometimes when a pretty boy tells a person to do something, they just want to do it. It can’t be helped.

 

He looks up at Tsukasa and realizes that this was a really stupid thing to do, but it’s too late. Tsukasa stares down at him, hair falling in his face and looking way too good for someone Leo’s seeing from a bottom angle, and for a moment, Leo remembers something from their first encounter that he actually  _ had  _ forgot. 

 

That clenching feeling in his chest… The one that had made him want to help Tsukasa in the first place, and the one that now makes him want to reach up to stroke his hair away from his face, but Leo doesn’t do that, thankfully. He’d probably get sued for touching someone like Tsukasa.

 

“Close your eyes.” 

 

Leo doesn’t think that’s a good idea. It must show on his face, because Tsukasa repeats himself, and Leo gives in. “What are you even trying to do? Are all rich people this weird?”

 

“I’m not  _ weird _ .” 

 

Leo feels fingers stroking through his hair and decides that he won’t argue it any farther. If this is weird, then he’s already the weirdest person alive, so it doesn’t matter anyway.

 

“This is what you did when you thought I’d fallen asleep already,” Tsukasa says, going back to his previous acting. “You said, ‘What am I going to do with you…’ as if you were that much older than me, and something about needing to go home… But you didn’t! You stayed with me until the morning, where you took me to the police station.”

 

“Mhmm? I did all of that? I must be a really great guy, huh, Suo~?” 

 

Even if he did, they’re still strangers, and he shouldn’t give in to this closeness so easily. They don’t know each other. Just because he helped Tsukasa like any decent person would, it doesn’t mean that he deserves this special sort of treatment. 

 

But… he’s selfish. Always has been. There’s no reason to stop being this way now.

 

“Yes,” Tsukasa says. Leo can’t see it, but he thinks that he can hear the smile in his voice, and he opens his eyes, surprised to actually view it. He had been joking, not expecting Tsukasa to agree. “When I was younger, I thought of you as a hero to me.” He’s clearly embarrassed to admit such a thing. 

 

Leo sits up, lifting his head away from Tsukasa’s lap, but still leans in, not wanting to separate yet. 

 

“That’s kind of dumb,” he says, grinning. He’s never been called anyone’s hero before, except for when he was playing games with Ruka-tan. He hadn’t done anything heroic, either, but he still likes the sound of it, and he also likes the redness that splashes across Tsukasa’s cheeks and the bridge of his nose. This really  _ is  _ weird.

 

“It’s not dumb!” Tsukasa leans away, frowning now. Oops. Leo shifts closer, though, not letting him escape. “I was a kid, and you helped me when I was scared! Any kid would feel like that!”

 

“Okay, okaaay,” Leo agrees, not wanting to argue with him even if his angry face is cute. “It’s not dumb. It’s...cute, actually. Suo~ was a cute kid! Of course I had to help him and be his hero!”

 

“But you tried to steal from me now,” Tsukasa says, not moving away, but not approving of him yet either. “Good people do not steal.”

 

“That’s…,” Leo trails off, unsure of how to explain to Tsukasa. He really doesn’t get how these things work when one isn’t well off, and Leo isn’t sure if he should be the one to break it to him that this is reality, not a fairytale. 

 

Good people don’t steal in storybooks, except… 

 

“But you know Robin Hood, right? He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and he’s a good guy!”

 

“Well, yes, but—”

 

“It’s just like that. I needed to steal from you so that I could sell it and get money for people like me! People like you already have too much. Isn’t it selfish to keep it all to yourselves? Writing music doesn’t pay the bills for people like me, so I had no choice!” He wouldn’t want to write for money, anyway. That’s like poison to a composer.

 

“But it’s still bad!” Tsukasa grabs Leo’s wrists again. He sure likes doing that. Leo doesn’t stop him, but recoils slightly. “Even if it is for a good cause, stealing is still wrong! You can go to jail for it… You would have if the person had not been me!” 

 

He’s right, but it still leaves a bad taste in Leo’s mouth. It’s not like he had done it with the intentions of being a bad guy, but he didn’t want to go to jail either.

 

“If you need something like money, then let me repay you for helping me! I really don’t mind doing that much, even if you are strange and talk about aliens,” Tsukasa says.

 

“There’s nothing strange about aliens! That’s going too far, Suo~!” Leo pauses before seriously responding, then sighs. “I don’t want your money anymore, so don’t offer me something like that. Honestly, you hardly know me, so Suo~ should be a little more self aware. If I was actually a bad guy, you could get seriously taken advantage of, you know?”

 

“But I insist. Let me pay you back!” Tsukasa looks at him with such bright, determined eyes that Leo feels himself stumble mentally, if that’s even possible. He subconsciously leans back in, hardly noticing himself gravitating back toward that brightness, like a lost planet whose sun had finally formed.

 

Fuck… The aliens had never warned him of something like this happening, and he’s sure they had some sort of future sight. Those bastards.

 

“You want to pay me back,” Leo starts tentatively. “I said that you owe me, but I just meant that you shouldn’t have me put in jail, alright? It wasn’t that serious. Though, if you really want to…” What he wants to say is too forward. He could back away, leaving this opportunity behind to try to forget about Tsukasa, but...

 

No, this is a once in a lifetime encounter. He can be forward. It’s not like they’ll see each other ever again, anyway.

 

“If you  _ really  _ want to repay me, then!” Leo stupidly grins again. “Let me ‘steal’ something else?”

 

“What… Steal what!” Tsukasa looks offended at such an offer after his lecture, but it’s fine. Leo isn’t going to let him wonder much longer.

 

“Hmm,” he hums, moving even closer and tilting his head, “something like...this?”

 

That’s the last thing he says to Tsukasa before he kisses him, sure that he’s going to get scolded for taking this chance later when he recalls the story to Sena, but for now, it’s so worth it. 

 

Even better, after a startled few seconds, Tsukasa actually kisses back.

 

Definitely worth it.

 

* * *

 

It isn’t until Leo’s already left the mansion, having been escorted outside of the gates by Tsukasa himself, that he notices the extra weight in one of his back pockets. 

 

He should have expected as much, really, but he’s still surprised when he finds the same pocket watch from earlier today hidden there, a note enclosed inside of it. When he carefully unfolds the paper, he doesn’t bother to hide his smile. No one’s around anyway.

 

‘ _ Please take this. If you really do not want it, then you can return it to me on Thursday, as I am free then. By the way, you write music? I would like to hear it sometime. Signed, Suou Tsukasa. _ ’

 

Huh. If he has no choice, then he has no choice. Sure, keeping close contact with someone like Tsukasa is bound to bring him troubles eventually, and it’d be really stupid, but Leo  _ likes _ being stupid.

 

He always has, even when he was twelve years old and decided to help a lost boy in an alleyway. 


End file.
